Apparatus and method for using storage domains for controlling data in storage area networks
A Storage Domain architecture in which a pool of storage devices is controlled by one or a plurality of Storage Domain Servers (SDS) and create a single, compatible, enterprise wide, storage resource pool that appears to the system as a gigantic shared disk drive. These storage devices may be connected to the Storage Domain Server directly via SCSI enclosures attached to the server, across a private Fiber Channel (FC) network, and/or across a public SAN fabric via switches and hubs. The Storage Domain Server logically maps physical storage data on individual storage devices to logical storage data and presents to each host the storage resources allocated to that host by the storage administrator within the Storage Domain. Data stored in the system is available to all authorized hosts and protected against unauthorized access. Storage Domain Servers control all storage devices directly attached to them or scattered in the FC network, and present a consolidated view of that available storage to hosts. The storage resource pool is divisible into multiple and secured “virtual and logical data volumes” that match the requirements of individual hosts. The volumes are allocated to the appropriate host regardless of physical location and then granted a set of properties and rules through the Storage Domain. The Storage Domain allows the volume to be handled independent of the hardware, such that it uniformly supports all storage devices, such as optical discs, magnetic disks, arrays, storage controllers, etc. All volumes can be addressable as simple disc drives.
1. A method for managing a storage area network (SAN), the method comprising:
defining storage domains respectively having associated configurable storage management properties that are separate from individual physical capabilities of physical storage resources available through the SAN, wherein a first set of storage management properties is associated with a first storage domain and a second set of storage management properties is associated with a second storage domain, with the first set of storage management properties being different from the second set of storage management properties;
accommodating the creation of logical volumes configurable for presentation to hosts through the SAN; and
allocating the logical volumes to hosts in the context of the storage domains, wherein allocating a first logical volume to a first host in the context of the first storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and allocating a second volume to a second host in the context of the second storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties
wherein presentation of logical volumes to hosts accommodates storage resource access by hosts without requiring hosts to be configured according to the requirements of the physical storage resources, and wherein said allocation of the first logical volume to the first host entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and said allocation of the second logical volume to the second host subject entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties even though the first logical volume and second logical volume are created from physical storage resources in common.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed storage capacity.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed I/O properties that include an I/O bandwidth and/or an I/O operations.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed availability.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed performance.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed integrity.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of storage management properties includes a first class of service and the second set of storage management properties includes a second class of service, whereby access of the first and second volumes by the first and second hosts entails differing classes of service.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second sets of storage management properties are softly-configured such that they are reconfigurable without requiring an update of the connections to the physical storage resources.
9. A computer program product for managing a storage area network (SAN), the computer program product stored on a computer readable medium and adapted to perform operations comprising:
defining storage domains respectively having associated configurable storage management properties that are separate from individual physical capabilities of physical storage resources available through the SAN, wherein a first set of storage management properties is associated with a first storage domain and a second set of storage management properties is associated with a second storage domain, with the first set of storage management properties being different from the second set of storage management properties;
accommodating the creation of logical volumes configurable for presentation to hosts through the SAN; and
allocating the logical volumes to hosts in the context of the storage domains, wherein allocating a first logical volume to a first host in the context of the first storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and allocating a second volume to a second host in the context of the second storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties,
wherein presentation of logical volumes to hosts accommodates storage resource access by hosts without requiring hosts to be configured according to the requirements of the physical storage resources, and wherein said allocation of the first logical volume to the first host entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and said allocation of the second logical volume to the second host subject entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties even though the first logical volume and second logical volume are created from physical storage resources in common.
10. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed storage capacity.
11. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed I/O properties that include an I/O bandwidth and/or an I/O operations.
12. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed availability.
13. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed performance.
14. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed integrity.
15. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the first set of storage management properties includes a first class of service and the second set of storage management properties includes a second class of service, whereby access of the first and second volumes by the first and second hosts entails differing classes of service.
16. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the first and second sets of storage management properties are softly configured such that they are reconfigurable without requiring an update of the connections to the physical storage resources.
17. An apparatus for managing a storage area network (SAN), the apparatus comprising:
means for defining storage domains respectively having associated configurable storage management properties that are separate from individual physical capabilities of physical storage resources available through the SAN, wherein a first set of storage management properties is associated with a first storage domain and a second set of storage management properties is associated with a second storage domain, with the first set of storage management properties being different from the second set of storage management properties;
means for accommodating the creation of logical volumes configurable for presentation to hosts through the SAN; and
means for allocating the logical volumes to hosts in the context of the storage domains, wherein allocating a first logical volume to a first host in the context of the first storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and allocating a second volume to a second host in the context of the second storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties
wherein presentation of logical volumes to hosts accommodates storage resource access by hosts without requiring hosts to be configured according to the requirements of the physical storage resources, and wherein said allocation of the first logical volume to the first host entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and said allocation of the second logical volume to the second host subject entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties even though the first logical volume and second logical volume are created from physical storage resources in common.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed storage capacity.
19. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed I/O properties that include an I/O bandwidth and/or an I/O operations.
20. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed availability.
21. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed performance.
22. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed integrity.
23. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the first set of storage management properties includes a first class of service and the second set of storage management properties includes a second class of service, whereby access of the first and second volumes by the first and second hosts entails differing classes of service.
24. A storage area network (SAN) that accommodates presentation of logical volumes to hosts and associates access to storage with configurable storage management properties defined by a storage domain, the storage area network comprising:
storage domains respectively defined to have associated configurable storage management properties that are separate from individual physical capabilities of physical storage resources available through the SAN, wherein a first set of storage management properties is associated with a first storage domain and a second set of storage management properties is associated with a second storage domain, with the first set of storage management properties being different from the second set of storage management properties;
logical volumes configurable for presentation to hosts through the SAN; and
means for allocating the logical volumes to hosts in the context of the storage domains, wherein allocating a first logical volume to a first host in the context of the first storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and allocating a second volume to a second host in the context of the second storage domain entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties
wherein presentation of logical volumes to hosts accommodates storage resource access by hosts without requiring hosts to be configured according to the requirements of the physical storage resources, and wherein said allocation of the first logical volume to the first host entails the provision of storage resources according to the first set of storage management properties and said allocation of the second logical volume to the second host subject entails the provision of storage resources according to the second set of storage management properties even though the first logical volume and second logical volume are created from physical storage resources in common.
25. The SAN of claim 24 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed storage capacity.
26. The SAN of claim 24 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed I/O properties that include an I/O bandwidth and/or an I/O operations.
27. The SAN of claim 24 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed availability.
28. The SAN of claim 24 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed performance.
29. The SAN of claim 24 , wherein the storage management properties comprise a guaranteed integrity.
30. The SAN of claim 24 , wherein the first set of storage management properties includes a first class of service and the second set of storage management properties includes a second class of service, whereby access of the first and second volumes by the first and second hosts entails differing classes of service.
31. The SAN of claim 24 , wherein the first and second sets of storage management properties are softly configured such that they are reconfigurable without requiring an update of the connections to the physical storage resources.